noun
abrv: DDD, ddd

do·pa·mine dri·ven de·vel·op·ment | ˈdō-pə-mən ˈdri-vən di-ˈve-ləp-mənt
DDD* | ˌdē-ˌdē-ˈdē

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1 :

The circular practice of using AI agentic coding tools with near zero human input or feedback.

An extension of “vibe coding” where the vibes have completely taken over. The software engineering equivalent of sitting in a casino at 3am, deep in the red, waiting for a hit. Any hit.

With DDD, a human operator is always “just one more prompt” away from fixing a bug, landing a feature, securing a promotion, raising funds, or being successful. DDD embraces digital algorithmically tuned slot machines akin to Instagram, TikTok, and other social media platforms of the 2020s.

DDD, by its very nature, is circular: the more unreviewed AI generated code an operator incorporates, the less is understood. As operator understanding diminishes, the more likely they are to lean on DDD and be subsumed by “just one more prompt”. When fully embraced, codebase comprehension is 0% and all understanding has shifted to the inference APIs.

2 :

A circular economic model pushed by tech executives at severely over-evaluated AI companies designed to promote usage of their inference APIs through first party agentic coding tools.

A key marker of DDD is its fatalistic nature - i.e., if you’re not using DDD you’ve already fallen behind, software engineering as a field is “totally cooked”, claiming some high percent of code at the company is written by AI agents, “AGI soon”, etc.

DDD is effective at generating circular compound revenue. As AI generated code is created through DDD, human operators further embrace the rot: many bugs inevitably pile up leading to more DDD and more inference API usage. As human operator comprehension dwindles, DDD becomes the only way to get anything done resulting in 100% capture for cost-per-token inference APIs.

As DDD reaches critical mass and customer acquisition plateaus, akin to other SaaS businesses subsidized by venture capital, AI companies will squeeze captured customers where codebase comprehension has bottomed out.